Happy birthday mommy :)
Wish you a nice and pleasant day.
Will try to call later on!

Well, after a minute on Wikitravel, I can tell Math was slightly wrong about 2 things. There are not 9000 islands but closer to 7000. The country was conquered by the Spanish indeed (for 300 years) and the English did occupy Manila for 2 years. But it was mostly the Americans who declared it was their colony for 30 years that explains why English is so widely spoken.

We are in Manila now. It feels good to be back to cheap prices, especially after Singapore :)

Flying (so luxurious isn't) to the Philippines tomorrow and as usual, we absolutely know nothing about the country we are about to visit. As we travel, we learn so much stuff including geography (the main cities or provinces for example), local dishes (some places like Singapore have such an extensive menu, it's hard to remember everything), history, economy, customs, popular artists and personnalities, etc.

So while we were trekking in Pulau Tioman and out of breath, I quiz my fellow travel companions to assess their knowledge about the Philippines.

Results? Not much.

Math went:
- I heard it was a great place for durians. There are maybe 9000 islands? The country was conquered by the Spanish and the English. Hummm, the last edition of the Amazing Race Asia was won by a team of Filipinos.


Annis tried:
- The capital is Manila. There are rice fields. People are supposed to be really outgoing and like to party.


It was harder for me since I was last:
- People are really Catholic. There is a chicken feet dish called "Adidas", named after the shoe company. Euhhh, the singer of the song "Pyramid" is Charice, a young Filipina.


Not sure any of this group knowledge will be useful for the next 3 weeks but we'll do our best to learn more.

At the beach, looking like she just came out of her shower.

(Pulau Tioman, Malaysia)

Our last day in Singapore! We started the itinerary with a stop at the Golden Mile Food Center next to Nicholl Highway (sucking bones, satay-to-die-for, laksa and many juices). We then proceeded to the National Museum for a private tour by Xiuli. Right after, we went to the Peranakan Museum (Chinese/Malay or Indian/Malay people). Since we were on the roll, we went for the Philatelic Museum (about post and stamps). By then, Mish was finally off duty so she joined us for dinner next to Esplanade (stingray, veggies, clams, carrot cake, chicken wings, many juices). There was a surprise gathering for Mish's upcoming birthday and Xiuli had to plan well so we wouldn't arrive too early. Asians being Asian, her friends were late :) but Mish was still surprised.

Thanks Xiuli for touring us around (again), switching your day off at such a short notice and bringing us to the best stalls/hawker centers in Singapore (again). Thanks Mish for being your usual nenepok so we can have a good laugh (at and with you). Thanks Elsa for bringing us back. (Have a nice trip in Taiwan) And Xingyan, why did you go so far? Hope you're having fun in Europe!

So we did end up going to the tree top canopy walk which wasn't as great as I thought it would be... We also visited the Asian Civilisations Museum (quite big) before having dinner at Timbre. That is a funny restaurant... They have duck with hoisin sauce pizza, tandoori chicken pizza and chicken wing pizza. The duck one tastes like Peking Duck so I like it. The rest of the evening evolved around food so to make it short: dragonfruit juice, pear juice, papaya milkshake, honeydew juice, black sesame/chocolate/green tea ice creams and kuai tuh tuh (steamed flour powder stuffed with peanut/coconut). I'm full.

We met Xiuli at her workplace, the National Museum of Singapore. Of course, eating is a priority so she brought us to Bugis Street hawker center as well as to a famous Chinese desserts shop. (You know because there's always a queue.) I had mango with pomelo and sago topped with ice cream. It was delicious! Afterwards, we went directly to the harbour front where you can get a glimpse of the Marina Bay Sands, the Durian, the Flyer and the lion/mermaid statue at once. Math and I didn't want to go there again but it's a must for any tourist. So for Nis' sake, we can say that we've been there, done that. This item on the list is checked and we can now forget about it :)

I'm heading to the Singapore Art Museum with Nis. (It's National Museum Day. Hence, no entry fee) If it stops raining, we'll go to the tree top canopy walk with Math and Xiuli later on. We'll see...

Our 7km trek from one side of Tioman Island to the other (Malaysia)

our destination: Juara

still innocent, not knowing the worst is to come

rubber tree

Baptiste and Chloe, the Frenchies

Nick aka Johnny (half Aussie/half kiwi) walking with flipflops

Juara!



floating Annis



platform

Annis' sexy back

on our way back to our side of the island

but then someone told us there were some waterfalls on the way

we decided to take a break (water was freezing cold)

time to head back

mommy chicken with her chickchicks

back to our bungalows!

Just arrived in Singapore. Will be meeting Xiuli tonight :)

Annis has invented a new technique to scratch her mosquito-bitten legs.

Not so elegant, but quite efficient.

(Mersing, Malaysia)

Ahhh, in exactly one month time, my arse will be back in Montreal.

Our plans are clear, our tickets are booked and confirmed.

Singapore from May 28th to May 31st

(just so we can become fat again haha)

Philippines from May 31st to June 20th

(hopefully, more diving)

Hong Kong from June 20th to June 26th

(can't forget the shopping)

Montreal from June 26th to...

Believe it or not, we tried to trek in Kuala Lampur (Malaysia). It failed miserably but we did catch a glimpse of a couple taking their wedding pictures. Makes me wonder how they can stand the humidity...

Today was our second dive in Pulau Tioman (Malaysia). We decided to try Soyak Island which was 5 minutes by speedboat from the dive center. While we didn't see any turtle or shark (bouhouhou), we did encounter a sea snake, 2 batfish, 2 pufferfish (one sitting on some coral and another one, a juvenile, swimming happily around. SO DAMN CUTE), 3 blue-spotted stingrays (very gracious) and a few clownfish (nemos). It was a really nice dive (53 minutes) and Annis took some pictures! Let's see when she will post them on FB.

Here are some pictures taken from Internet about the creatures I mentioned above.

pufferfish

sea snake

blue spotted stingray

batfish



clownfish



In Pulau Tioman (Malaysia) and this island is amazing!!! Today we saw not one but TWO turtles during our dive. Annis and her buddy also had the chance to see a blacktip reef shark so I'm a bit jealous. Still, the reef was beautiful and enormous. The fish were plentiful and a bit different from the ones I've seen in Koh Tao. We'll be diving again tomorrow so fingers cross for the shark!!!

Jacques-Yves Cousteau

From birth, man carries the weight of gravity on his shoulders. He is bolted to earth. But man has only to sink beneath the surface and he is free.

Time (28 March 1960)

Buoyed by water, he can fly in any direction — up, down, sideways — by merely flipping his hand. Under water, man becomes an archangel.

Time (28 March 1960)

Tropical Spice Garden (Pulau Penang, Malaysia)

Malaysian Food: Yes We Like!

Tong Sui Shop (Cameron Highlands)

sexy taro tong sui (Cameron Highlands)

hotpot for 2 (Cameron Highlands)

Indian vice (Pulau Penang)

I can feel the heat of this murtabark (Pulau Penang)

Funny way to cook Baked Rice (Kuala Lampur)

We miss HK food (Kuala Lampur)



black sesame ice mountain (Kuala Lampur)

Banana Flower, one of the most beautiful things in the world AND DELICIOUS
(banana flower salads are to die for)
Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

flower garden in Cameron Highlands (Malaysia)

Miam miam, wantan mee street stall (Pulau Penang, Malaysia)

Wish we had these in Montreal...

Ahh the joy of having a common room at the guesthouse!!! You can find those at any respectable hostel in Europe. But in Asia, they are pretty rare. Surely because dorms are also pretty rare.

Therefore, we've been spending way too much time indoors, watching DVDs, reading books, drinking coffee and tea, eating toasts, etc. The best part is to meet a lot of new people (the Polish couple, the French couple, the Malay couple and the 2 guys from Netherlands, as well as the awesome Malay guy who works there) and to share our experiences, stories and advices in the morning, around the (free) breakfast table or at night after a long day exploring the ancient city.

I'll miss Travellers' Planet Hostel <3

p.s (We went to see the last sequel of Pirates of the Caribbean and the priest is way too hot. Makes me want to become religious)

After Kuala Lampur, Melaka is an absolute jewel, a charming city. We've been here for not even 24 hours and I love it already. Plus, Nis flashed her pretty eyes to the guy at the guesthouse to get a room with aircon and washroom for 50RM (16$). Let's say we are all very pleased.

For those who have read "Eat, love, pray", the sequel "Commited" is not as funny and full of adventures. It is more a discussion about the institution of marriage and what it means today. I think it's a good read for anyone confused (me) or who wants to know more about everything related to the history of matrimomy, its social status in different cultures, the consequences of being married on one's life, just to name a few. She also tries to explain why women in Western countries are less interested of going down the aisle than their mothers or grandmothers before them.

Here's an excerpt from the book.

"I was born into a late-twentieth-century American middle-class family. Like untold millions of other people in the contemporary world born into similar circumstances, I was raised to believe that I was special. (...) Whatever our religion, whatever our economic class, we all at least somewhat embraced the same dogma, which I would describe as being very historical recent and very definitely Western and which can effectively be summed up as:"You matter."

(...)

I had always been taught that the pursuit of happiness was my natural (even national) birthright. It is the emotional trademark of my culture to seek happiness. Not just any kind of happiness, either, but profond happiness, even soaring happiness."

p.42-43, "Commited" by Elizabeth Gilbert

Erawan Waterfalls, Kanchanaburi (Thailand)

These waterfalls are AMAZING. The water is so clear. There are plenty of fish which eat your dead skin. And there isn't too many people to spoil the whole scenery. Definitely a place to go if your doctor tells you you have only a month to live.

Want some Thai coffee?

in a market in Bangkok (Thailand)

You know when someone is tired

in the tuktuk from our bungalow to Koh Phagnan Pier

in the pool in Koh Phagnan

in Bangkok

on the street in Chinatown, Bangkok

Laughing birds? So damn cute XD

in a market

Bangkok (Thailand)

Happy Mother's Day Mommy :)

No, no, I didn't forget. Just had problems with Internet.

Thank you for supporting me even though I'm not always the nicest daughter haha

Have a nice day and will call soon

xoxo

Thais love to watch him play Tiny Wings

So Daniel contacted a friend from a friend who's a diving instructor in Koh Tao (Thailand).

Her name is Abby. She trained us through the Open Water Course as well as the Advanced Open Water Course.

Our group consisted of Daniel, Math and I. Really awesome to have such privacy and focus.

Here are some pics from our whole week in Koh Tao or more specifically, in Ban's Diving Resort (biggest diving school in the world and multi-awarded by PADI). Indeed, we spent all our time either in our aircon/tv (luxury when you're in SEA), in the water, on the boats, in Ban's own restaurant called Fishbowl or its rival next door named Bingo.

in the room, eating papaya

Bingo: one of our 2 restaurants

our diving resort called Ban's

after a diving day

Sandy, one of the Fishbowl Restaurant's dogs (looks like a seal)
I love him very much

Ban's reception area

Ban's reception area

I know you love this cos I do

view on one of the pools from our room

about to dive

Ban's reception